The Hand Of Fate
by Dana-Lith
Summary: A mysterious elf appears out of the night to help Aragorn and his friends, but is he more than he seems? Ok I'm crap at summaries. But it's better than it sounds! I hope...ON PERMANENT HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so this is my first attempt at a fanfic, not sure quite how it's gonna end. Anyways if I get enough positive feedback I'll post some more…who am I kidding if I get ANY feedback I'll post more!! Hehe read, read and tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: Nope I don't own Lord or the rings or any of the characters…except for my own elfy-guy**

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A soft breeze whispered through the forest, bringing with it the sickly sweet smell of death. Frowning the elf raised his head, closing his eyes as he let the wind tell him its tale. He sighed, shaking his head, _such a needles tragedy…_he thought sadly. He began to turn away, the death by the river was none of his concern, and if there was one thing life had taught him it was that you should never meddle in things that weren't your concern. He shuddered as, unbidden, a picture of what had happened last time he meddled rose into his mind…those screams…the blood…He flinched away and began to stride into the gathering dusk, away from the river. Sudden pain ripped through his head. Shrieking he stumbled back, _wh-what's going on!_ He thought desperately through the sudden mist of pain that clouded his mind. He whimpered as he fell to the ground, tears starting in his eyes, _What do they want! _The wind turned with sudden strength, tugging at his hair in the direction of the river. He gasped, _They can't want… NO! They promised! _Ignoring the stabbing pain in his head he screamed at the impassive sky,

"YOU PROMISED!! YOU SWORE I WOULDN'T HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN!" he sagged down, tears pouring unchecked from his silver eyes as he sobbed, "Never again!"

He screamed as the pain erupted behind his eyes. Inside his head he heard their voices, cold and distant as ever. _"Promises can be broken," _He cringed back as the memory flashed across his mind, _"Need you be reminded…? We require you to infiltrate this…fellowship. It is in danger. You must gain their trust and make sure they do not fail." _Silence echoed through his brain as the pain mounted. He stayed still, resisting them, until he could take it no longer. Loathing himself for his own weakness he whispered, "Very well. I will do as you ask." As suddenly as it had come the pain vanished, leaving him shaking on the cold forest floor. Slowly pulling himself into a sitting position he sighed, "But who am I to join? The Halflings tread the way of greater danger, but the rest will have more need of aid…" his voice trailed off. They seemed to think for a while before softly replying, _"Do not follow the Halflings. Their destiny is beyond even our power to change." _He gazed in the direction of the river hopelessly, "But they left hours ago!" he cried, "To catch up with them I'd have to run all night!" He paused and thought about what he'd just said, no answer came from the mysterious voices, "Guess I'd better start then." He muttered dejectedly as he hoisted himself up. Heaving another huge sigh he set of at a dead run. This was going to be a long night.

Two hours later he realised just how long. His breath came in ragged gulps, blood staining his lips as his throat tore in his struggle to get air. Mud spattered his clothes and face, the dark splotches standing out against the near white of his skin. Leaves and twigs littered his black and silver hair making him look like a crazed scarecrow as he plunged on recklessly after the three companions. He knew he could slow down, stop the pain in his chest, and catch the friends just as dawn broke. But he wanted this over as fast as possible, so he ran at full speed. Pushing himself to reach them before the moon set. Finally he saw it, a tiny pinprick of light in the distance. Not breaking stride he swiftly counted the figures that surrounded the tiny fire, _Yes,_ he thought, relief flooding over him, _Yes, it's them. Just a few more miles and I'll be there._


	2. Chapter 2

**Alrighty, well, I know I said I wasn't going to post more due to lack of reviews. But since Wulfeh asked SO nicely I decided to try again…Heh, this chap's for you Wulfeh, although it might not be very good…sorry, I just haven't had time to write anything recently and I'm a little out of practice… **

**Disclaimer: Nope, let me check…Nah, still don't own LOTR, and if I did, d'you seriously think I'd be wasting my time writing for (Much as I love the place…)**

**Oh yeah…just a small key, 'cause I felt like it…**

"**Blah, blah, blah," talking**

'_**Blah, blah, blah'**_**thinking**

**I'm writing this all from the point of view of my elfy-guy, but I can change that if people think it'd improve the story…**

**-**

The pain in his chest was nearly unbearable. His entire body screamed at him to stop, but he kept pushing himself towards the fire. Head down, he stumbled into the ring of firelight and collapsed to his knees panting. Slowly he looked around…he blinked in dazed surprise. The fireside was deserted. '_Now where could they have gone…could've sworn they were right here…'_He thought groggily. A faint rustling reached his sensitive ears. Panicking slightly he whipped round, or tried to at least. Halfway through the spin his abused body decided it'd had enough and plunged him into unconsciousness.

Awareness gradually filtered down through the layers of his mind. '_Hmm…'_ he thought, '_I feel pain…now why- Oh yeah…too much running…I wonder what happened after I blacked out…wait, I blacked out? Oh…that would explain a few things…like why I'm talking to myself…Hmmm…I feel ropes…that's not good. Guess they must've tied me up…yup, I'm tied good and proper…It's quite uncomfortable actually…'_ With infinite difficulty he prised open his eyes, '_I fell asleep with my eyes closed? Don't normally- Oh yeah, blacked out. Not sleep. Gotta remember that…'_ Suddenly his clear (if slightly fuzzy) view of the sky was blocked by a small face surrounded by a mane of wild red hair, a gruff voice assaulted his ears,

"Hey! The brat's awake." He glared up at what he now realised must be a dwarf, _'I_ _have nothing against Dwarves, but I HATE being called Brat by someone younger than me!_' he thought angrily. Before he could open his mouth to give a suitably venomous retort, a man and an elf came into his limited field of view and the dwarf was pulled back. His pale eyes assessed the sight, the man was obviously a ranger, and the elf…with the colour and style of the tunic, he'd say nobility from Mirkwood. He forced himself to keep his expression perfectly calm as he stared up into the suspicious faces of the three companions,

"I suppose," He said softly, "that there is a reason you have tied me up?" The three faces regarded him in silence for a few minutes before the ranger replied,

"Forgive us, but we have reason to be distrustful."

-

**Maaaaa…Sorry, really crap ending, and I personally think this is one of the worst things I've ever written. But my inspiration went plop. Oh well, tell me what you think and I'll try to write more…**


	3. Chapter 3

Waaaah!! I'm sorry!! I really meant to update right after I got all those lovely reviews, but I've been _really_ busy with revision for my Pre-lims and stuff…I'm sorry!! Unfortunately I (in my opinion) still have writers block, so I apologise in advance for the crappiness, but I really wanted to update SOMETHING!! So I'm submitting a short snippet-thing to keep people interested till I can start updating regularly…

Oh yeah! I'm not sure whether I should follow the books or the movies for this story, or do a weird hybrid of both…what do you guys think?

Disclaimer: Nah…unfortunately I still don't own LOTR. I saw it for sale on e-bay, but some bastard beat me to it!

…I did a key last time, but I'm adding some stuff…

"blah, blah, blah" talking

'_Blah, blah, blah"_ thinking

"**Blah, blah, blah" **talking in elvish…'cause I'm lazy and can't be bothered finding the right words…

**-**

He sighed and pressed his eyes closed for a few seconds, murmuring under his breath – although not so low as to not be audible to the sharp ears of his fellow elf,

"Indeed you do, my lord Aragorn…" He nearly smiled at the sharp intake of breath that followed his statement, but managed to control his expression and turn it to one of startled bemusement as a sharp blade pricked his neck, forcing his head back.

"**Who are you and what do you know of us! Speak quickly!"** He gazed up in what he hoped greatly was a look of hurt confusion at the glaring elf, in his peripheral vision he could see the startled expressions of the man and dwarf. '_Ah, so it __is__ Aragorn son of Arathorn…Thank you for proving me right, and unless I'm very much mistaken, you're Prince Legolas…Oh what a merry band this is…'_ **"I'm Se-Dindraug" (1)** He stuttered out, '_Shit! Nearly told them my real name! Have to be more careful…'_ **"I was…sent! By my Masters…to help you! They told me of your mission…" ** He watched in mock fear at the suspicion that clouded Legolas's face, but to his surprise, it was Aragorn that spoke,

"**And who might these masters be?" **Thinking fast, he spurted out the first names that came to his head, **"Why, the Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn of course! It came to their minds that you might require assistance…so they sent me, I ran all the way from Path-Galen through the night. For fear that I may have come too late to provide aid…but I must have been more tired than I thought. Which would explain why I collapsed in your camp…"** he saw the suspicion lingering in their eyes and tried his last card, anger, in a desperate attempt to make his story believable, **"You must believe me!"** he cried in righteous indignation.

A sudden stroke of inspiration hit him and he had to forcibly stop himself from grinning as he carried on,** "check my pouch if you don't believe me! I have the Lady's token to prove it!"** At a nod from Aragorn, Legolas reluctantly removed his blade from Dindraug's throat and knelt down, rummaging through the small leather pouch that hung at his belt until he drew a hand out clenched tightly around something. He opened his hand, to reveal a leaf broach, identical to the ones the three companions were wearing.

Still suspicious, Legolas questioned quietly, **"why do you not wear it? If it is a token of favour from the Lady Galadriel…"** yet again forced to think fast Dindraug spoke from the top of his head, **"I would…but for reasons I would rather not disclose I feared to lose it, as I lost my other belongings…"** Here he let an expression of melancholy flash across his face before straightening it swiftly. Legolas's eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth as if to speak. But before he could get a word out, Aragorn put a hand on his shoulder and spoke in the common tongue, "Let him up Legolas…I think we may take his word."

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(1) This is just two elvish words sandwiched together; literally Dindraug means 'silent-wolf' I don't plan on revealing 'Dindraug's real name till much later ;) so you'll all have to keep reading if you want to find it out!

Anyways, review! And make me a very happy author…


	4. Chapter 4

Yoski peeps! Hehehe…yeah…um…don't kill me! Sorry about the blip but things were just an itsy-bitsy turbulent on the home front for a while…but anyways! That's all been sorted out, and I hope to update once a week from now on! And if I forget or am late you have full permission to take away all my cookies and my LOTR videos…Unfortunately a friend of a friend is borrowing my Two towers video at the moment so I'll have to go by the book till I get it back…

Disclaimer: nope, still don't own it…

And here's the key…

"Blah, blah, blah" talking

'_Blah, blah, blah'_ thinking

"**Blah, blah, blah"** Talking in elvish

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Dindraug worked hard to keep a satisfied smirk off his face as the disgruntled elf-prince grudgingly cut his bonds. He sat up slowly, rubbing at the raw indentations the rope had made in his pale wrists. He let his gaze wander slowly over the land surrounding the small camp, ignoring for the moment his newfound companions – who were still eying him warily.

Finally, he opened his mouth to speak and break the tense silence that had fallen over the camp, but before he could utter a single syllable his empty stomach took the initiative with an audible plea for sustenance. His mouth snapped shut as a pink tinge rose to his cheeks – elves' stomachs do _not_ do that – and his head dropped in embarrassment. He glanced up at the others surreptitiously through his eyelashes, '_come on…take the bait already! Do you have any idea how hard it is to do that consciously?!'_ he thought as all three stared at him incredulously. Then the dwarf let out a booming laugh that snapped the others out of their stupor and set off a fit of chuckling. Careful to keep an embarrassed grin on his face Dindraug looked up and scratched the side of his nose self-consciously.

"Let's get you some food laddie, sounds like you need it!" boomed the dwarf warmly, Dindraug allowed himself to be pulled up by the other two as he responded,

"That might be a good idea," he paused for a second as his stomach growled its approval, _'Now then…who the hell are you?'_ he thought as he let a chuckle slip from his lips at his noisy gut's antics, while sweeping the dwarf with his sharp silver eyes for anything which might hint at his identity, _'Damn…I can't work it out! Why are dwarfs so difficult to distinguish?!'_ He though frantically. Suddenly, inspiration hit him,_ 'Perfect! And it'll get you back for calling me a brat earlier…'_

Letting his embarrassed grin slip into a cheeky smirk he continued, "Though I'd _hate_ to take food away from the mouth of one so old and venerable, dear _master_ dwarf!" He watched as the dwarf huffed in indignation and replied with mock anger, "That's Gimli son of Gloin to you, you young whippersnapper!" Dindraug laughed and bowed elaborately in apology while Aragorn and Legolas grinned from the sidelines, _'So it's Gimli, is it?' _ he thought as he watched the laughing figure, _'Well Gimli…I think you're going to be very useful to me…yes…with you on my side the other two will fall neatly into place in a matter of day., you're going to help me complete my masters bidding_, _now aren't you pleased about that?'_ He allowed himself a small smirk of victory as he accepted the food proffered to him and beginning to eat along with everyone else, _'perhaps this mission won't be so bad after all…'_

_-_

Waaah! It's so short! I'll try and write more next time…So you should really review and tell me how! It'll inspire me! Honest!

A.N: ANY AND ALL FLAMES WILL BE GIVEN AS GIFTS TO MY FRIND THE PYRO IN THE CORNER FOR HER AMMUSEMENT.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi there, a bit of an introspective chap here…but only a little. You all know the deal with the key now, don't you? If not, here it is again…

"Blah, blah, blah" talking

'_Blah, blah, blah'_ thoughts

Disclaimer: The manufacturer revokes any right on the part of the consumer to claim damages and/or insurance in the event of accidents and/or product malfunctions. Batteries not included.

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Dindraug had been very careful to cultivate the friendship of the little dwarf over the days of fruitless searching that followed his arrival. It was amazing what a glare from the diminutive figure could do to dispel the wary glances and whispered suspicions of the other two, although he supposed they might have been less cautious if he had in fact _done_ anything to help them other than miscellaneous food gathering and other such things. But that wasn't his concern. He was here to protect the fellowships ultimate goal, and to steer them gradually to the right path. Not to help them find two dim-witted Halflings!

All the same, it would probably have been better if he'd masked his feelings more when Legolas first pointed out the company of what he could discern as being Riders of this land. Unfortunately Aragorn had seen his sneer of slight contempt at the elf's abilities, which were far inferior to his own, and perceived it as an insult to their cause. And the barely smothered laughter when Aragorn had done his dramatic 'listen to the rumour of the earth' trick might have been a mistake too. But c'mon! Give a guy a break! He'd been out of commission for over a thousand years…he was bound to be a bit rusty on the old subterfuge. And to be honest, the future king did look hilarious when on his knees in the mud with his ear pressed to the ground.

It had been with this need for stronger diplomacy towards the younger members of the group that he'd been carefully keeping his mouth closed to all the snide comments that threatening to slip out, _'Man, when did I get so sarcastic?' _He wondered to himself idly as guard duty stretched out long and dreary before him. He could've told them that nothing was going to attack them. He'd made _sure_ of that. But breaking cover would be Completely Inexcusable and would only Stir Up Discord, as his Masters so _helpfully_ kept on reminding him in the long stretches of silence that occupied the journey. He was sure either Legolas or Aragorn had noticed this…communication; he knew from past experience the visible changes it brought about in him. Still, orders where orders…

He watched with detached boredom – carefully hiding his face beneath the hood of his cloak, of course – as the other three finally spotted the Riders and stopped to wait for them. He was mildly amused to see them riding straight past without so much as a glance in their direction, till Aragorn stood up and hailed them loudly,

"What news from the North, Riders of Rohan?" _'Now that's just annoying…'_ he thought gloomily as the horsemen swung round and circled the 'friends' within minutes. As soon as the supposed leader uttered that pompous greeting, Dindraug knew it was safe to zone-out. Only to have his little ally rub them up the wrong way and have to 'jump to his defence' with his fellow elf to prevent his cover from being completely blown out of the water. Not that he actually felt the need to add any verbal comment to Legolas's heated statement, it seemed to sum things up rather nicely.

Following that everything blurred into one long dramatic speech after another, and it was only vaguely that he noticed the departure of the horsemen. In fact, he was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that it came as something of a surprise when Aragorn thrust the tack-less(1) horse towards him with a clear if unspoken message that it was time to get his head out of the clouds. All the same, this quest was barely four days old and already he found himself tiring of both its objective and his companions. This was going to be a long mission…

-

(1) 'Tack' is the collective name for the saddle, reins, bridle, etc. of a horse, in case you didn't know…

Reviews encourage me to update!!

A.N: ALL FLAMES WILL BE GIVEN TO MY FRIEND THE PYRO IN THE CORNER FOR HER PERSONAL AMUSEMENT.


	6. Chapter 6

Yoski

Yoski. I'm so so so so so so so so sorry!! I really am! I've been trying to get this up for a while now, but my internet connection keeps throwing hissy fits in my direction. I swear I'll try to be better about updating….And if anyone's not too furious at me for the long gap, a review or two would be absolutely wonderful XD.

Btw, I have officially lost my copy the Two Towers movie, so this bit will be based on the book…although I'll probably do the whole Helms Deep bit movie-style 'cause it's so much shorter than what's in the book and I'm lazy like that ;)

Key:

"Blah, blah, blah" Talking

'_Blah, blah, blah'_ thinking/ Dindraug's voices (:P he's insane…)

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Dindraug sat staring glumly at the flickering remains of the camp fire, trying to think of a way to wile away his remaining time on watch. The shadows of Fangorn forest stretched over him and his companions like an icy blanket, scowling Dindraug tossed another log on the fire and let his mind wander back to the events of the day.

All had been going well, the tracks they had to follow were clear and they made good time. It was only once they reached the site of the battle that things began to go downhill spectacularly. At first he'd had to deal with everyone getting teary-eyed at the thought that the 'poor defenceless ikkle hobbits' had perished along with their Uruk-hai captors. But of course nothing could be so simple, could it? '_Oh no,' _thought Dindraug bitterly, _'Mr know-it-all ranger just __**had**__ to find some traces of an escape, didn't he?'_ He sighed, following the tracks of the two little ones hadn't been hard, it was just bad luck that they entered Fangorn. As if having to stay in the disconcerting shadow of the brooding wood wasn't enough, they'd been visited by a lovely Saruman look-a-like. And then to top it all off, the horses ran away.

Dindraug tugged his cloak tighter around himself, _'Why are they doing this?'_ He thought in tired confusion, letting his gaze wander over the sleeping figures around him. _'Why put themselves through this for two such insignificant figures?'_ A frown made its way onto his face, _'What could make someone act so foolishly?'_

'_You never used to think it was folly to care.'_ Dindraug flinched at the sudden sibilant hiss that invaded his mind.

"What do _you _want." He snapped in a muted whisper, glancing around to make sure no-one was awake to notice this interchange. _'We were merely checking up on the state of the quest, and overheard your thoughts.'_ Stated another, almost identical voice in the darkness of Dindraug's subconscious. Dindraug pressed his eyes tightly closed, "And?" he muttered fiercely, "Why should it matter what I think?" The voices let out an inhuman chuckle, _'It doesn't, Dindraug…it merely amuses us that you should change your opinion so drastically over the space of a century…'_

His eyes snapped open in fear, "No…" He breathed, "No…don't…" A sadistic giggle was his reply. The callous hissing voice insinuated itself into his mind, _'Why not, Dindraug? Does it upset you?' _He squeezed his eyes closed again in desperation, "Please…" A twist of pain answered him as the voice continued, _'Don't you want to remember? Tsk tsk. How unfeeling of you Dindraug…Let us show you how it used to be…'_ Dindraug felt tears gathering at the corner of his eyes and bit his lip hard to keep them in place. _'You were happy then, weren't you?'_ The cold voice whispered at his ear, _'with __**her**__...'_ Dindraug shook his head violently, "No. No. Please don't make me remember…" the voices took no notice continuing on as if he hadn't spoken, _'Her, with her golden hair and her violet eyes. Her who tried to tame us, who tried to steal our little servant…'_ A cold trail of crystallised sorrow found its way out of Dindraug's eye and slipped silently down his cheek as images filled his mind. Laughing, running, smiling, dancing…Her violet eyes stared at him gently out of a thousand shattered memories. Crying, tripping, screaming, burning…The terrible pictures repeating themselves again and again and again in his mind.

A triumphant edge gilded the harsh whisper when it next spoke, _'Her, who __**failed**__. Her whom we __**destroyed**__. Because of you, Slave, she is __**dead**__.' _ "No…" The choked protestation fought its way around the slowly falling tears that drenched his face. But it was empty of all defiance. A cruel laugh echoed in his head once more, before silence returned. Broken only by the crackling of the fire and the soft sobs of the only one awake.

It didn't take long for Dindraug's tears to run dry. _'I've spent so much time crying_ _over her…I hardly had any left to shed'_ he thought. Wiping his eyes Dindraug silently thanked the Valar that there was still three hours of his shift to go. With any luck the redness around his eyes would have subsided by the time he had to wake the dwarf. _'They're right though…'_ He thought, _'I used to care…Perhaps…Perhaps I'm wrong?' _ Letting out another weary sigh he shook his head and sat brooding while the dark watched of the night passed by around him.

-

Pretty please review?

AN: ANY AND ALL FLAMES WILL B GIVEN TO MY FRIEND THE PYRO IN THE CORNER FOR HER PERSONAL AMUSEMENT


	7. IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE

Authors Note:

My sincere apologies to anyone who was waiting for an update – I feel it should come as no surprise by now that it's not likely to happen. I'm very sorry – I had noble intentions, but life was not quite so obliging. School and a lot of family drama followed/concurrent to sorting out university just killed any creative drive I might once have claimed. I've only very recently started to have the time and inclination to write again. I am sorry, I should have at least made this clear earlier – I kept hoping I'd get round to updating, you know?

I'm afraid that I have, at this stage, largely forgotten what I intended all of these stories to be and where I wanted the plot to go – for most of them I didn't _have_ a coherent plot worked out. It is possible that at some time later I will get a spark of inspiration and come back to these, but as things stand I am sorry to announce that these projects are officially cancelled.

My apologies,

Dana


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